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The RIANP’s Mission: To increase access to quality
healthcare and forward the field of Naturopathic Medicine in the areas of
public education, accessibility, and efforts toward licensing naturopathic
doctors in Rhode Island.

Naturopathic doctors (NDs) are trained as a
primary care physicians and are experts in natural medicine, blending
non-toxic natural therapies with current advancements in the studies of
health and human systems while covering all aspects of family
healthcare from prenatal to geriatrics.

EXCITING NEWS TO START OFF MARCH 2015

THE NATUROPATHIC PHYSICIANS ACT OF 2015

Bill Hearing (H5380) - Wednesday, March 4th at 4:30pm

in the House's Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) Committee

Invitation to join us at the State House Hearing - THIS Wednesday, March 4th at 4:30pm+

We would love to have you there to show your support for this licensure bill.

Have friends, family, patients, colleagues, community members do the same.

Urge them to support The Naturopathic Physicians Act of 2015 - H5380.

Link to find your General Assembly Representative: https://sos.ri.gov/vic/(If your Representative is on the HEW Committee, their contact information is listed below).

At the above listed link, scroll to General Voter Info and type in your street address and city/zip code. Then click Search. Scroll down until you see the name of your General Assembly Representative name. His/her email address is REP-THEIRLASTNAME@RILIN.STATE.RI.US Click on their name to go to their website, which lists their phone number.

SAMPLE EMAIL: "Hi, My name is ____ and I live in your district. I am writing to urge you to support House Bill 5380, which has its Health, Education, and Welfare Committee hearing this Wednesday, March 4th. Please encourage your colleagues on the Health, Education, and Welfare Committee to support this bill as well. Thank you."

Also, below is information on Naturopathic Doctors and why the licensure bill is important.

401-263-7770

The Naturopathic Physicians Act of 2015

What this bill does: This
legislation requires licensure for naturopathic doctors to practice in Rhode
Island, by establishing educational and practice standards and a board to
regulate the profession. Twenty states and territories currently license
naturopathic doctors.

Why this bill is needed: Licensure ensures
high quality naturopathic care in Rhode Island by protecting the consumer from
unqualified practitioners who claim to be naturopathic doctors. Licensure will
improve access to complementary medicine and promote business development because
more qualified specialists in natural medicine will be encouraged to practice
in Rhode Island.

Who are
Naturopathic Doctors?

Naturopathic
Doctors (NDs) are general practitioners who are medical specialists in natural
therapies. Naturopathic Doctors
treat acute and chronic conditions while employing natural therapies including
nutrition, herbal medicine and nutritional supplements.
NDs focus on prevention and lifestyle
improvements as important parts of their therapeutic recommendations.

·
Naturopathic
Doctors graduate from 4-year residential graduate level medical colleges and learn basic and clinical sciences similar to
conventional medical doctors. These Naturopathic Medical Colleges are
accredited by regional and programmatic accrediting agencies that are
recognized by the US Department of Education. Courses include: basic and
clinical medical sciences; physical, laboratory and radiological diagnosis;
modern uses for natural and conventional therapies and a minimum of 1200 hours
of supervised clinical training. Graduates
must pass the NPLEX, a national competency-based board exam, to obtain
licensure.

Naturopathic
Doctors have demonstrated an excellent record of safety. Data from medical liability insurance carriers and
from licensing boards show that naturopathic doctors are trained to deliver
natural outpatient health care safely and ethically.

·
Naturopathic
Doctors are well-respected members of the health care community. NDs have been members of federal health care policy
advisory boards. Naturopathic Medical Colleges have research projects that are
funded by the National Institutes of Health and collaborate on research with
the medical colleges of major universities.

Naturopathic Doctors are seen as vital contributors
of science-based expertise in the field of natural medicine. Naturopathic doctors and medical colleges
collaborate with major universities, hospitals and conventional medical schools
to advance research in natural medicine and the training of conventional health
care providers in natural medicine. A partial list of collaborating
institutions includes: